Passports and other requirements

We need a vacation. A real vacation. Not an overnight to Waco. A vacation that requires passports.

Pop and I have, um, different standards when it comes to traveling. I didn’t know this until after we were married, when the two of us took a 15-day trip to Guatemala and Belize. I arranged the itinerary. Here it is, in its entirety:

Dec. 1: Fly from JFK to Belize City.

Dec. 15: Fly from Guatemala City to JFK.

The severity of the sand fly bites caused Pop to seek medical treatment in Guatemala. The doctor gasped when he saw this.

I read a travel book en route. We hopped off the plane, shared a cab to the docks with another backpacker and grabbed a public boat taxi to the island where the book said the cheapest accommodations could be found.

Pop’s memories: Having his legs nearly eaten off by the sandflies that infested our $15 per week Belizian waterfront hut.

Here’s how the conversations go:

Me: We need a vacation. How about Thailand?

Pop: Do you want to sit on a plane for 18 hours with a jet-lagged Peanut? And then traipse about another country during the day, which she thinks is night, only to rest at night, which she thinks is day?

Me: What about Central America? It’s in this time zone. I hear Honduras has nice beaches.

Pop: Have you forgotten about the great sandfly-infected-leg-near-amputation debacle of 2001? I nearly left my legs in Guatemala.

Peanut: I like waking up in the middle of the night, disrupting your precious sleep!

7 Responses

How about one of the A-frame beach houses in Surfside Beach, TX. It’s cheap, close to Houston (and medical care, just in case), close to Lake Jackson (mall & movies), close to Galveston (more mall & movies), and you can sit back, bask in the sunshine and play pretend that you’re in some far away land full of dark skinned natives while enjoying frosty drinks and exotic foods (HEY- that IS Surfside!!!) Just a suggestion…

I’m not giving my kids that luxury yet. Too many ways to torture them. Like a Disney cruise. Doesn’t sound like torture, but when you have a 12 year old and a 20 month old it is. The twelve year old brings up the fact that she never got to go on a Disney cruise, and now (even though she is a closet Hannah Montana fan) she is wayyy to cool for such things. We would totally ruin her reputation. I’ll get them matching outfits and everything. Great family fun! Now to fit it in the rodeo schedule.

Try this. No passport required. In the heart of Dan’l Boone National Forest making it Hillbilly Heaven. I have friends who rented this cabin just this week. Peaceful, self-catering, outdoors activities, towns not too far, and KY is beautiful